18-letter words containing n, a, p, i

special assessment — a tax levied by a local government on private property to pay the cost of local public improvements, as sidewalk construction or sewage disposal, that are of general benefit to the property taxed.
special collection — a collection of materials segregated from a general library collection according to form, subject, age, condition, rarity, source, or value.
specimen signature — a signature to be compared to an original signature in order to verify someone's identity
sperry corporation — (company) The company which merged with the Burroughs Corporation to form Unisys Corporation. Divisions included Sperry Univac, Sperry Flight Systems, and others. Some of these were sold off after the merger.
spherical triangle — a triangle formed by arcs of great circles of a sphere.
spin stabilization — a technique by which a bullet, rocket, etc, is made to spin around its longitudinal axis to assist it in maintaining a steady flight path
spinal anaesthesia — anaesthesia of the lower half of the body produced by injecting an anaesthetic beneath the arachnoid membrane surrounding the spinal cord
spirits of ammonia — a 10% solution of ammonia in alcohol
spread one's wings — to make full use of one's abilities
stepping-off place — jumping-off place (def 2).
subsidiary company — a company whose controlling interest is owned by another company.
summary proceeding — a mode of trial authorized by statute to be held before a judge without the usual full hearing.
super giant slalom — a slalom race in which the course is longer and has more widely spaced gates than in a giant slalom.
superior vena cava — See under vena cava.
supporting actress — an actress playing a supporting role
surgical appliance — a specialized device used by somebody to relieve a particular medical condition
sustaining program — a radio or television program without a commercial sponsor.
sweptwing aircraft — an aircraft which has wings that are swept (usually) backwards
sympathetic string — a thin wire string, as in various obsolete musical instruments, designed to vibrate sympathetically with the bowed or plucked strings to reinforce the sound.
system-programming — a program, as an operating system, compiler, or utility program, that controls some aspect of the operation of a computer (opposed to application program).
systematic phoneme — a phonological unit in generative phonology representing an underlying form that takes into account the relationship between phonological patterns and morphological variation, as the unit underlying the second vowel in both derive and derivative.
talent competition — a contest in which people compete by showcasing their talents, for example in singing, dancing, acrobatics, etc
talk between ships — TBS (def 1).
teaching equipment — teaching aids
television company — a company that broadcasts programmes by television
temporal summation — the act or process of summing.
terrestrial planet — inner planet.
the general public — the people in a society; people in general
thiruvananthapuram — a state in SW India: formerly the regions of Travancore and Cochin. 15,005 sq. mi. (38,836 sq. km). Capital: Thiruvananthapuram.
threatened species — a species likely, in the near future, to become an endangered species within all or much of its range.
thrills and spills — If you refer to thrills and spills, you are referring to an experience which is exciting and full of surprises.
to cast aspersions — If you cast aspersions on someone or something, you suggest that they are not very good in some way.
to fall into place — If things fall into place, events happen naturally to produce a situation you want.
to lick into shape — If you lick, knock, or whip someone or something into shape, you use whatever methods are necessary to change or improve them so that they are in the condition that you want them to be in.
to pick and choose — If you pick and choose, you carefully choose only things that you really want and reject the others.
to scrape a living — If you say that someone scrapes a living or scratches a living, you mean that they manage to earn enough to live on, but it is very difficult. In American English, you say they scrape out a living or scratch out a living.
to speak your mind — If you speak your mind, you say firmly and honestly what you think about a situation, even if this may offend or upset people.
to spill the beans — If you spill the beans, you tell someone something that people have been trying to keep secret.
to stop at nothing — If you say that someone will stop at nothing to get something, you are emphasizing that they are willing to do things that are extreme, wrong, or dangerous in order to get it.
traditional option — an option that once purchased cannot be resold
traditional policy — a life assurance policy in which the policyholder's premiums are paid into a general fund and his or her investment benefits are calculated according to actuarial formulae
traditional weapon — a weapon having ceremonial tribal significance, such as an assegai or knobkerrie
transient response — A transient response of a circuit is a temporary change in the way that it behaves due to an external excitation, that will disappear with time.
transporter bridge — a bridge for carrying passengers and vehicles by means of a platform suspended from a trolley.
transylvanian alps — a mountain range in S Romania; a SW extension of the Carpathian Mountains. Highest peak: Mount Negoiu, 2548 m (8360 ft)
under-compensation — to compensate or pay less than is fair, customary, or expected.
under-depreciation — decrease in value due to wear and tear, decay, decline in price, etc.
unfair competition — acts done by a seller to confuse or deceive the public with intent to acquire a larger portion of the market, as by cutting prices below cost, misleading advertising, selling a spurious product under a false identity, etc.
unisys corporation — (company) The company formed in 1984-5 when Burroughs Corporation merged with Sperry Corporation. This was when the phrase "dinosaurs mating" was coined. Unisys is one of the largest providers of information services, technology, and software in the world. They employ about 49,000 people and do business in some 100 countries. In 1994 about 80 percent of revenue was derived from commercial information systems and services, with the remainder coming from electronic systems and services for the defense market. The defense business was sold to Loral in early 1995. Slightly more than half of Unisys's revenue is from business in the United States. They specialise in providing business-critical solutions, based on open information networks, for organisations that operate in transaction-intensive environments. These organisations include financial services companies, airlines, telecommunications companies, government agencies, and other commercial enterprises. In August 1994, quarterly sales were $1799M and profits $50M.
unit magnetic pole — the unit of magnetic pole strength equal to the strength of a magnetic pole that repels a similar pole with a force of one dyne, the two poles being placed in a vacuum and separated by a distance of one centimeter.

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